We provide greater theoretical precision to the concept of productive opportunities of Penrose. We show firm emergence as a recursive cycle of changing productive opportunities. We show how those opportunitiesresult from the technological base of the firm and are associated with the particular characteristics of the technology.We also show how productive opportunities require the assembly of different internal and externalresources, and therefore partners. We address explicitly how the firm and its potential partners perceive uncertainty and single out the different mechanisms used by the firm to address uncertainty—envisioning, pooling, and staging—to secure resources from external partners and exploit the identified productive opportunities in a timely manner.
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This paper presents work aimed at improved organization and performance of production in housing renovation projects. The purpose is to explore and demonstrate the potential of lean work organization and industrialized product technology to improve workflow and productive time. The research included selected case studies that have been found to implement lean work organization and industrialized product technology in an experimental setting. Adjustments to the work organization and construction technology have been implemented on site. The effects of the adjustments have been measured and were reviewed with operatives and managers. The data have been collected and analyzed, in comparison to traditional settings. Two projects were studied. The first case implied am application of lean work organization in which labor was reorganized redistributing and balancing operations among operatives of different trades. In the second case industrialized solution for prefabricated installation of prefabricated roofs. In both cases the labor productivity increased substantially compared to traditional situations. Although the limited number of cases, both situations appeared to be representative for other housing projects. This has led to conclusions extrapolated from both cases applicable to other projects, and contribution to the knowledge to improve production in construction. Vrijhoef, R. (2016). “Effects of Lean Work Organization and Industrialization on Workflow and Productive Time in Housing Renovation Projects.” In: Proc. 24 th Ann. Conf. of the Int’l. Group for Lean Construction, Boston, MA, USA, sect.2 pp. 63–72. Available at: .
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Voor het vierde achtereenvolgende jaar organiseerde SURF Educatie de EduTrip, waaraan dit jaar maar liefst ruim 100 mensen uit het Nederlandse hoger onderwijs en aan het onderwijs gerelateerde bedrijfsleven deelnamen. Doel van het Nederlandse bezoek aan EDUCAUSE was allereerst om via netwerken en het leggen van contacten met collega s, gezamenlijk zicht te krijgen op de huidige stand van zaken rondom ICT in de Amerikaanse instellingen voor hoger onderwijs. Op basis hiervan is dit boekje tot stand gekomen.
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Mastering academic language (AL) by elementary school students is important for achieving school success. The extent to which teachers play a role in stimulating students’ AL development may differ. Two types of AL stimulating behavior are distinguished: aimed at students’ understanding and at triggering students’ production of AL. As mathematics requires abstract language use, AL occurs frequently. The instructional methods teachers use during mathematics instruction may offer different opportunities for AL stimulating behavior. In our first study, based on expert opinions, instructional methods were categorized according to opportunities they offer for stimulating students’ AL development. In the second study, video-observations of mathematics instruction of elementary school teachers were analyzed with respect to AL stimulating behavior and instructional methods used. Results showed that actual AL stimulating behavior of teachers corresponds to the expert opinions, except for behavior shown during task evaluation. Teachers differ in time and frequency of their use of instructional methods and therefore in opportunities for stimulating AL development. Four teaching profiles, reflecting different AL stimulating potential, were constructed: ‘teacher talking’, ‘balanced use of methods’, ‘getting students at work’ and ‘interactive teaching’. Teachers showed more types of behavior aimed at students’ AL understanding than at production.
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An EU-Mexican panel discussing the needs of creative industries mid- and post-pandemic, and how the cultural sector is fundamental for the health and wellbeing of society. Discussions touched on employment, policy, and education, along with sector-specific opportunities and cross-sectoral challenges. The name 'creative industries' was challenged for its divergent uses: many cultural sector workers believe it encompasses them, but policy often regards 'creative industries' as a branch of industrial design. There was significant criticism of social organisation that orients purely towards 'productivity' and the generation of revenue, while ignoring happiness as a goal.
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The report from Inholland University is dedicated to the impacts of data-driven practices on non-journalistic media production and creative industries. It explores trends, showcases advancements, and highlights opportunities and threats in this dynamic landscape. Examining various stakeholders' perspectives provides actionable insights for navigating challenges and leveraging opportunities. Through curated showcases and analyses, the report underscores the transformative potential of data-driven work while addressing concerns such as copyright issues and AI's role in replacing human artists. The findings culminate in a comprehensive overview that guides informed decision-making in the creative industry.
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Western-European consumers have become not only more demanding on product availability in retail outlets but also on other food attributes such as quality, integrity, and safety. When (re)designing food supply-chain networks, from a logistics point of view, one has to consider these demands next to traditional efficiency and responsiveness requirements. The concept ‘quality controlled logistics’ (QCL) hypothesizes that if product quality in each step of the supply chain can be predicted in advance, goods flows can be controlled in a pro-active manner and better chain designs can be established resulting in higher product availability, constant quality, and less product losses. The paper discusses opportunities of using real-time product quality information for improvement of the design and management of ‘AgriFood Supply Chain Networks’, and presents a preliminary diagnostic instrument for assessment of ‘critical quality’ and ‘logistics control’ points in the supply chain network. Results of a tomato-chain case illustrate the added value of the QCL concept for identifying improvement opportunities in the supply chain as to increase both product availability and quality. Future research aims for the further development of the diagnostic instrument and the quantification of costs and benefits of QCL scenarios.
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More and more local bottom-up energy initiatives are emerging. Those involved encounter many barriers during the realization of their ideas. As the generation of renewable energy is mostly included, these local initiatives contribute to the targets set at regional, national & EU level. At the same time, they are an indication that end-users themselves want to be part of the energy transition. What are the reasons for citizens to organize themselves and start and initiative? What kind of barriers do they encounter? What does this mean for roles and responsibilities of professionals? And to what kind of opportunities does this lead for products and services? Answers to these questions provide a solid starting point to develop methods and instruments to stimulate,facilitate and upscale local energy initiatives. This paper bundles the outcomes of three workshops and three additional interviews in the Netherlands as part of the European E-hub project. Conclusions can be drawn on needs and drivers, barriers, risks and solutions (lessons learned), possible roles for professionals and opportunities for new products and services.
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This report is the result of a research interest stemming from the case presented by the City of Budapest on the misalignment between EU funding opportunities and the interdependence of the national government. The main research question was “Which channels exist for a local or regional government to access EU funding directly, without the need for interference of the national government?”. Recent political developments in Hungary have led to an increasing amount of budgetary challenges for the City of Budapest. Besides domestic factors, the European Commission’s decision to suggest to withhold cohesion and RRF funds to Hungary raises the question of what different avenues of direct EU funding instruments might be at the city’s disposal. Therefore, the aim of this research is to provide recommendations on what avenues the City of Budapest might want to invest in in terms of advocacy activities on the EU level. We first conducted a desk research, mapping the current landscape of EU funding instruments under the direct management of the EU (the overview can be found in the appendix). Secondly, ten interviews were conducted in October and November 2022 with several multi-level stakeholders from the European Parliament, the European Commission, the umbrella organisation of cities in the European Union ‘Eurocities’, a Hungarian journalist and a regional representation in Central-Eastern Europe. Based on these conversations, we identified five main findings with corresponding recommendations for action.
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People with moderate to profound intellectual disabilities (ID) have a higher risk of health problems and, therefore, healthy living is of great importance for them. To achieve this, this group requires support from the people around them such as relatives and direct support professionals (DSPs). However, DSPs do not feel sufficiently equipped to provide this support. The objective of Annelies Overwijk’s research was to determine how to facilitate a healthy lifestyle for people with moderate to profound ID by improving the lifestyle support provided by DSPs. To this end, DSPs’ support needs were first explored after which a training and education program was developed, implemented, and evaluated. In this thesis, DSPs indicated that they need knowledge and skills to provide lifestyle support. One of the skills they can help use to stimulate people with ID is the use of behavioral change techniques. This thesis shows that, although a number of these techniques are used in daily practice, they are not yet consciously utilized to improve lifestyle support. Since the attitude of DSPs to support healthy nutrition is important, a practical questionnaire was also developed to measure this. Based on DSPs’ support needs for encouraging a healthy lifestyle, a training and education program was developed together with them and experts. This program consists of an e-learning and three in-person sessions that can be adapted to the support needs of the DSPs and the team and proved to be promising in an implementation study. The products are free and available on: www.dekrachtengebundeld.nl.
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